Most digital cameras today are similar in size to and behave like conventional point-and-shoot cameras. Unlike conventional cameras, however, most digital cameras store digital images in an internal flash memory or on external memory cards, and some are equipped with a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on the back of the camera. Through the use of the LCD, most digital cameras operate in two modes, record and play, although some only have a record mode.
In record mode, which is also referred to as capture mode, the LCD acts as a live viewfinder in which the user may view an object or scene before taking a picture, similar to the LCD on a camcorder. When the user presses the shutter button, whatever scene is shown on the LCD is captured as a still image. Besides capturing still images, some digital cameras can be set to capture other image types, such as burst and time-lapse images. A burst image is a series of still images captured in rapid succession, while a time-lapse image is series of still images taken at regular intervals over a longer time period.
In play mode, the LCD acts as a playback screen for reviewing the previously captured images. Typically, several small images are displayed on the LCD at once, and by selecting one of the images the user may then display the full-sized version of the images in the LCD.
Although conventional digital cameras are more convenient for the user to use than film cameras due to instant play back of captured images, there are several drawbacks in the user interface that restrict user interaction with the camera. When capturing images, for example, it is often helpful for the user to be informed about the current settings or operational state of the camera, such as whether the flash is on/off, and the current image type setting, for instance.
In conventional digital cameras, such status information is typically displayed as text blocks or accessed through a status screen or the like. The disadvantage with the text blocks is that they are typically small (10-15 characters in length), and therefore, the amount of status information they can provide is very limited. Typically, text blocks are used to display information such as the current image number. Moreover, when text blocks are displayed with a solid color background, the background obscures that portion of the image. And when text blocks are displayed with no background (only text), the text is difficult to distinguish from the colors comprising the image, making the text hard to read.
The disadvantage with status screens is that in order to view the status information, the image currently displayed on the LCD must be replaced with the status screen, causing the user to loose sight of the image. Another approach would be to shrink the display area of the LCD and add a black status area in the viewfinder, as done in optical viewfinders of film cameras. This, however, would shrink the size of images displayed in the viewfinder.
Another drawback with conventional digital cameras is that as technological advances are made, digital cameras are continually provided with more features and functions, which make them more complex for the user to interact with. This is similar to what occurs with PC software, which increasingly grows larger and harder to use. PC developers attempt to alleviate this problem by providing more and larger help menus. Each help menu usually opens in its own window with paragraphs of scrolling text.
Using PC help menus in a digital camera to guide user interaction through the camera features and functions would be less than ideal because of the limited size of the camera LCD. And assuming help menus were displayed, they would either obscure whatever image was being displayed or otherwise totally replace it, which is disadvantageous to the picture taker.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method for displaying status information in a manner that does not obscure the display of the current object in the LCD, and for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device. The present invention addresses such a need.